Best CD Rates in Chicago, IL area: Top 3

Below are the highest yielding CD (certificate of deposit) rates available to the residents of Chicago, IL. The banks and credit unions serving this are also cover the following cities: Des Plaines, Northbrook, Bloomington, Forest Park, Mount Prospect, Lisle, West Chicago, Naperville, North Chicago, and Elmhurst, IL. These come in the form of 6 month CDs, 12 month CDs and 24 month CDs. After sorting through dozens of rate pages by local community banks and credit unions serving the city of Chicago as well as the state of Illinois, we found that for the most part, you will be able to receive slightly better rates with local institutions than with national ones.

Keep in mind interest rates are time-sensitive in nature, so you will want to refer to the date of this article for accuracy. To get the most CD current rates from national banks, compare CD rates nationwide. 

How did we compile this list? As you are probably aware, higher CD rates tend to accompany longer maturities and since we did not want to strictly list long maturity CD’s we decided to list the deposit rates which beat the national average by the highest margins.

Best 6 month CD rates in Chicago, Illinois:

• Access Credit Union has a 6 month CD yielding 1.91% APY with a minimum deposit of $10,000 required. They have locations throughout the city with primary branches in Cicero, IL.
• United Trust Bank has a 6 month CD and a 9 month CD yielding 1.76% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required. They have branch locations in Chicago and Bridgewater, IL.
• Beverly Bank and Trust Company, National Association has a 6 month CD yielding 1.75% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required. They are based out of Chicago.

Best 12 month CD rates in Chicago, Illinois:

• Access Credit Union also has 12 month CD yielding 2.15% APY with a minimum deposit of $10k required.
• Quorum Federal Credit Union has a 12 month CD and a 15 month CD yielding 2.15% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required. They have locations (either branch or ATM) in Chicago.
• Park National Bank has a 12 month CD yielding 2.10% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required.

Best 24 month CD rates in Chicago, Illinois:

• Seaway Bank and Trust Company (Chicago branch) has a 24 month CD yielding 2.52% APY with a minimum deposit of $5000 required.
• First Suburban National Bank has a 24 month CD yielding 2.37% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 required. They have locations in Chicago and Crestwood, IL.
• Banco Popular North America has a 24 month CD yielding 2.35% APY with a minimum deposit of $10,000 required. They have locations primarily in Cicero, IL.

Best money market account rates in Illinois

Below are the highest yielding money marekt account rates available to residents of the state of Illinois.

Currently, the large national banks are offering similar money market rates when compared to the rates offered by local banks and credit unions. In Illinois, there are a few local institutions which have higher yields on their money market accounts, but they have fairly strict membership eligibility requirements.

If you browse through our archive of money market account rates, you will see MMA’s are yielding a lot less than they were this time last year. In fact, the national average for money market rates sits at roughly 1.20% APY currently - this number was well above 3.0% APY during the summer of 2008.

Below I have listed the top 2 banks and/or credit unions serving the state of Illinois which are offering the best returns on their money market accounts. Keep in mind, you may receive higher rates from larger national banks whom serve the whole country rather than a specific region. Compare money market accounts nationwide to find the optimal account for you.

Top Money Market Account Rates in Illinois:

First Federal Savings Bank of Mascoutah: New Baden, IL. Money Market Account yielding between 1.76% APY and 2.26% APY depending on minimum balance. If you maintain a minimum balance of $1,000 - $4,999 you will earn 1.76% APY, if you maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 - $10,000 you will earn 2.01% APY and if you maintain a balance of above $10k you will earn the 2.26% APY. First Federal Savings Bank of Mascoutah was founded on August 1913 as the Mascoutah Building and Loan Association.  At the time there was an influx of new citizens with virtually no rental properties available.  To help solve this problem, a group of local businessmen invested to found the Building and Loan Association.  Unlike banks of the time, the building and loan could make long time loans repayable in small periodical payments.  This enabled a growing number of citizens with lower incomes to secure home mortgages and not have the problems associated with a short time mortgage.

City National Bank of Metropolis: Metropolis, IL. Money market account yielding 2.27% APY with a minimum balance of $2,500. They call this account the “cash management account” and it allows you to make transfers from a cash management account to another account or to third parties by pre-authorized, automatic, telephone or computer transfer are limited to six per statement cycle with no more than three by check or similar order to third parties. City National Bank of Metropolis has been serving southern Illinois for over 100 years.

Both of the above institutions are federally insured by the FDIC - your deposits are secure up to $250,000. If you live in Illinois and know of a better money market account rate offered through your local bank or credit union, please share by leaving a comment.

Best certificate of deposit rates in Illinois (Top 3)

Below are the top 3 CD rates offered to the residents of Illinois. After researching several credit unions and local banks serving residents of the state, I found the highest yielding CD rates to come in the form of 2 year CDs, 3 year CDs, and 5 year CDs. As you probably know, a longer CD maturity will get you a higher interest rate, therefor I took the CD rates that beat the national average by the highest margins. The local banks/credit unions that topped the list for CD rates in Illinois may have additional membership requirements (rather than simply being an Illinois resident) so you may want to visit their eligibility page(s) for exact terms.

CD rates offered exclusively to this state are on par with the rates offered by some of the larger national banks. If you are simply after the highest interest rate then you may want to compare the local rates for Illinois residents (below) with the rates offered nationally. Compare nationally available CD rates.

Top 3 CD Rates (Illinois)

(clicking on the institution will bring you to their rates page)

ADM Credit Union: Decatur Illinois. 24 month CD yielding 2.75% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $500. This rate is good as of July 6, 2009. ADM Credit was organized in 1941 by the employees of Archer Daniels Midland Co to meet the financial needs of employees of the company. The credit union is member owned and is operated by a Board of Directors elected by the membership. Our membership is restricted to ADM employees, their immediate family, domiciled in the same home. While we provide a service to ADM employees, we are not a part of the ADM organization and do not come under their operational policies. We have grown, over the years to become a very safe and solvent credit union. We are not a bank and do not share the same philosophy as a bank. All deposits are insured by NCUA, which is backed by the US Government.

Credit Union 1: Springfield, Illinois. 36 month CD yielding 3.05% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000. If you opt to invest $10,000 or more then you will recieve an interest rate of 3.15% APY. In 1958, Chanute Military Credit Union opened its doors on the Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois to serve military personnel and their families. With the government’s announcement of plans to close the Chanute Air Force Base, plans were made to expand the credit union in order to continue to serve those faithful military members. As a result, the field of membership was expanded and they changed their name to Credit Union 1 in 1982. In 1999, they combined forces with Paysaver Credit Union, headquartered in Lombard, Illinois. Today they serve over 87,000 members throughout the state of Illinois and Indiana, as well as worldwide.

First Bank of Highland Park: Northbrook, Illinois. 60 month CD yielding 3.50% APY with a minimum deposit of $5000. This CD rate is actually a “special offer” from First Bank of Highland Park and is only available for a limited time. The promotion began on 7/13. From its inception, First Bank of Highland Park has been focused on the community and meeting the needs of its neighbors. After 53 years of growth, and a few major lobby and annex building remodels later, the Bank continues to meet the needs of its customers and be a leader amongst community banks on Chicago’s North Shore.

If you live in Illinois and know of a local rate that is better than the ones listed above, please share by leaving a comment! All of the banks that we covered in this post are federally insured by either the NCUA or FDIC.

STC Capital Bank’s 6 month certificate of deposit: 2.50% APY

Thanks to BankVibe reader Sean for tipping us off on a phenomenal rate coming from a local Illinois bank. Currently STC Capital Bank has a 6 month certificate of deposit which is yielding 2.50% APY. The average yield for 6 month CD’s sits at roughly 1.30% APY. Unfortunately for most of us, this product is not available. STC Capital Bank only has two branches and both are in St. Charles, Illinois. This product is only available to customers in the area.

The six month CD offered by STC Capital Bank became available on the first of this month and they accept deposits up to $25,000. You may also start with less than $25,000 and add to your deposit throughout the life of the CD. If you aren’t one of the lucky ones who are able to take advantage of this offer great, you may want to compare 6 month CD rates nationwide.

STC Bank was founded by a group of investors with a “passion for excellence within the banking industry.” STC is an abbreviation for their core values. S stands for Service, T stands for Trust, and C stands for Commitment.

Main Office
460 South 1st Street
St Charles, IL 60174
phone: (630) 377-1555